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  “I believe Morgan probably made everything tidy, but the area will receive intense scrutiny.” He turned to Morgan. “And you should not be around for some time to come. Out of sight, out of mind.”

  Morgan nodded. “Whatever you say.” He turned away and started up the path. “I left my rifle up there with Runne. I'll just go up and get it and make sure Keller has the scenario right. I'll be right back.”

  Alex watched him climb. He was moving quickly, his gaze on the top of the bluff.

  “It's going to take a little while to clear you, Ms. Graham,” Andreas said. “We have to keep the Matanza guilt story in place if we're to keep this conspiracy from the public. Betworth managed to tar you with the same brush. We'll give it a while and then discover evidence of your innocence. But we will do it.”

  “I don't have any doubt you will. We've already agreed right is right. So you'll clear Morgan too.”

  Morgan had reached the top of the bluff. He was silhouetted against the sky, and he looked lean and tough and . . . alone.

  Sweet Jesus.

  “That's more difficult,” Andreas said. “His past is considerably more tarnished. But we'll— Where are you going?”

  She was streaking up the path after Morgan. “He's not coming back. He lied. He's been stung too many times to believe that— He thinks he's made a deal with you, dammit.”

  He was out of sight.

  “Morgan, you come back,” she shouted. “I'm not going to stand for this!”

  She reached the top of the bluff. Keller was kneeling beside Runne, but Morgan was nowhere in sight.

  “Where is he?” she asked Keller.

  He nodded toward the north side of the bluff.

  She ran to the edge.

  No Morgan.

  Her hands clenched at her sides as tears stung her eyes. “Don't you do this to me, Morgan. You son of a bitch, it's not fair.”

  No answer. No sound.

  No Morgan.

  Epilogue

  Trinidad

  Her footsteps made no sound on the soft sand.

  Yet she knew he was aware of her presence. He didn't look up from his canvas, but she could see the slight tension in the muscles of his back.

  “You shouldn't have come, Alex.”

  She kept walking toward him. “How did you know it was me?”

  “Your smell. I'd never forget your smell. Not if I lived to be a hundred and fifty.”

  “I'd never forget your smell either.” She stopped beside him. “Though I might not be able to detect it from ten feet away.”

  “How did you find me?”

  “Galen. It took him a while, but he finally located you. It would have helped if you hadn't moved around so much.”

  “You shouldn't have come.”

  “You said that before.”

  “It bears repeating. Andreas cleared you. Go on with your life.”

  “I am. I'm here.”

  “I may have to stay on this island for a long time. Andreas has to be very careful about trying to clear me. There might be too many questions. And we've already discussed this isn't the kind of life for you.”

  “No, it's not. But I don't have a choice right now. It's where you are.” Her voice was shaking. “And where you are, there I'll be. Make up your mind to it. You may not love me now, but you will. I'll see to it.”

  He didn't look away from the painting. “That's not the problem.”

  She stiffened. “That's the most bullshit statement of commitment I've ever heard. I deserve better.”

  “I'm not committing. Go home.”

  “The hell I will.” She took his arm and twirled him to face her. “You listen to me. I'm here, and I'm going to stay here. I'm not going away because you think I'd be better off without you. You're stuck with me. I can live on an island. I can live on the run. I can live anywhere as long as I'm with you. If I get bored here, I can always go and help Melis rescue dolphins or something. Now, put down that paintbrush and let's go find somewhere to make love. It's been too long.”

  He looked down at her. “You won't go away?”

  “No.”

  “Not ever?”

  “Forget it. I'm here until hell freezes over. You've had it, Morgan.”

  A smile lit his face as he threw his paintbrush down. His arms closed around her. “Thank God.”

  Bantam Books by Iris Johansen

  Dead Aim

  No One to Trust

  Body of Lies

  Final Target

  The Search

  The Killing Game

  The Face of Deception

  And Then You Die

  Long After Midnight

  The Ugly Duckling

  Lion's Bride

  Dark Rider

  Midnight Warrior

  The Beloved Scoundrel

  The Magnificent Rogue

  The Tiger Prince

  Last Bridge Home

  The Golden Barbarian

  Reap the Wind

  Storm Winds

  The Wind Dancer

  DEAD AIM

  A Bantam Book / April 2003

  Published by Bantam Dell

  A Division of Random House, Inc.

  New York, New York

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 2003 by Johansen Publishing LLLP

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

  Bantam Books is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

  Visit our website at www.bantamdell.com

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

  Johansen, Iris.

  Dead aim / Iris Johansen.

  p. cm.

  1. Women photographers—Fiction. 2. Dam failures—Fiction.

  3. Conspiracies—Fiction. 4. Colorado—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3560.O275 D43 2003

  813'.54—dc21 2002034256

  Published simultaneously in Canada

  eISBN: 978-0-553-89727-2

  v3.0